NatureSweet to buy tomato growing firm

Updated 8:39 pm, Monday, January 28, 2013

Photo: COURTESY PHOTO

Image 1of/2

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 2

Desert Glory's NatureSweet employees at a tomato farm outside Guadalajara, Mexico, walk through a row of cherry-on-the-vine tomatoes this year. Desert Glory officials say the company produces 80 percent of the cherry tomatoes consumed in the United States.

Desert Glory's NatureSweet employees at a tomato farm outside Guadalajara, Mexico, walk through a row of cherry-on-the-vine tomatoes this year. Desert Glory officials say the company produces 80 percent of the

San Antonio-based company NatureSweet Ltd. plans to buy the assets of EuroFresh Farms, an Arizona greenhouse grower that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday, the second time the company has sought protection from creditors in four years.

“This acquisition represents an exciting opportunity for us to grow our company and expand our business,” NatureSweet CEO Bryant Ambelang said. “EuroFresh offers a line of products that will add significant value to our company and customers.”

NatureSweet employs about 5,000 people, most of them in greenhouse operations in Mexico. It is known for niche products such as “cherub” and “sunburst” tomatoes.

It was unclear Monday whether NatureSweet planned to take on the Arizona employees and expand into greenhouse cucumbers or other specialty tomatoes.

“Given that NatureSweet just announced today its intent to acquire EuroFresh Farms' assets, and this is the start of the process, not the completion, it is premature to speculate,” said Denise Clarke, a spokeswoman for NatureSweet.

Most Popular

EuroFresh was founded in Pennsylvania in 1990 and relocated to Arizona in 1992. It has more than 300 acres of glassed-in growing area producing more than 150 million pounds of tomatoes a year.

According to documents filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Tucson, Ariz., EuroFresh had assets of between $10 million and $50 million, based on preliminary estimates, with liabilities estimated at between $50 million and $100 million.

The filings indicated that the company would not have funds available to pay unsecured creditors.

EuroFresh previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2009. It emerged as a reorganized company in November 2009.

The NatureSweet acquisition will take place through a so-called 363 sale, which allows a company filing for bankruptcy to immediately market its assets to bidders, subject to approval by the federal bankruptcy court.

“We are pleased to have received this offer from a financially strong organization,” EuroFresh Farms CEO Johan van den Berg said in a news release.